Cost of a Computer

The Education Department of Schwerin in Germany threw away 170 computers which were infected with a virus called Confickr. The department figured it was cheaper than dealing with the hassle. Microsoft has released a Malicious Software Removal Tool, which fix the issue with 'one click'. However, hiring someone to perform the 'one click' cost more than dumping them and ordering some new.

With few exception, computers especially lower end computers are manufactured in China. After they were dumped, they would also find their way back to China to be processed. The reason they are so cheap to build and to be discard is because China does not factor in any cost of damages done to the environment and workers.

Environmental impact in building and recycling computers are highly visible because of many toxic materials it contains. On the other hand, families across the world are throwing lightly used clothes, furnitures and house appliances not because they broke, but because newers one are so cheap. Many of these will impact the environment locally. In this case, whom should we blame?

Cost of Low Cost

Labor cost is not the only reason foreign manufactures rushed to China to set up plants. Although China's labor cost is up, foreign companies are not expected to leave.

ConocoPhillips was caught in a situation BP faced after the Mexico Gulf Oil Leak incident, after a micro-blog indicated an oil leak was on-going in the Bohai Gulf on June 20, 2011. The China's State Oceanic Administration responded half months later, with an official Xinhua news release, in which the oil leak was said to be within an area of '20 square meters (about the size of a typical family kitchen room, it is not a typo)', and had been cleaned up. All news agencies were instructed to use the official Xinhua news release, and prohibited from reporting on the incident.

Bohai Gulf is almost encircled by Liaodong Peninsula and Shandong Peninsula. Approximately 78k km² and blocked by East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, it is almost an inland lake. According to personal blogs and twitters, oil accumulations could be see as far as hundreds of kilometers away from the alleged leaking place by tourists and fishermen.

The State Oceanic Administration declared the clean up had been completed in a news press held on July 4, 2011. Oil trace on water was reported to the agency as early as June 4th, but the origin was not located until sometime after June 17th. The agency stated the leak was 'almost under control' by June 21st. The agency also stated the maximum fine for such incident was CNY 200K ($30k). US based ConocoPhillips was found solely responsible for the oil leak.

ConocoPhillips was awareded Penglai 19-3 Oil Field, the largest off-shore oil field in China with 0.8 billion barrels of known reachable oil reserve. Oil prospecting in Bohai Gulf had been a low hanging fruit with success ratio over 50% in 6 continuous years, however, the area had been contracted to varies foreign companies for development.

One Time Plastic Bags Banned

As a decisive move welcomed by many environmental activists, the Chinese government banned shops and stores from giving away plastic bags. Commonly seen super-thin one time plastic bags are flatly banned from manufacturing and circulating, while 'environmental friendly' bags are banned from giving away free.

Shoppers were encouraged to bring a reusable bag with them with go shopping. Shops and stores must charge a fee if a packing bag is used. Though moderately at 5 cents, the fee is expected to make a significant impact on people's shopping habit.

Western developed countries criticized the move as authoritarianism, undemocratic and suppressive. However, this is not the first time the Chinese government is scolded by the West on environmental issues. When the Chinese government attempted to limit the destructive harvesting of ancient forests in China, western countries denounced the measure would raise the price of woods on the International market.

Creative Shanghainese

shang·hai (shāng-hī', shāng'hī') tr.v. shang·haied, shang·hai·ing, shang·hais

1. To kidnap (a man) for compulsory service aboard a ship, especially after drugging him.
2. To induce or compel (someone) to do something, especially by fraud or force: We were shanghaied into buying worthless securities.

shanghai. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shanghai (accessed: January 18, 2008).

Shanghainese are known for being smart and innovative. This time however, they are smart and innovative in burning their own (often slim) asses. The environment evaluation report (sec 2-1) published by the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences in Dec 2007 executed a behavior art showcase on Shanghainese themselves. As the Shanghai scientists measuring the noise impact of the proposed Maglev train between Shanghai and Hangzhou, they creatively used the average noise level in 1 hour instead of the real noise level measured, to make sure the figures fall in the range allowed by national standard. In the history of the science and engineering, this will surely be remembered as the first attempt of using an averaged noise level as the only published measurement to push forward a disturbing engineering plan. Bravo, Shanghai scientists and engineers!

Cheap Made-in-China Products Cost Environment

Cheap made-in-China products filled discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Target around the US. They are also making the record-high trade deficit between US and China. Although Chinese has a large population with more diligent an better educated workers, but one key factor that contributes to the low manufacturing cost of made-in-China products is the zero liability of environment damage.

Mr. Ma Jun, the director of the Research Institute of Public and Environment, an Non-government organization, provided a list of 33 foreign invested companies, who took advantage the ignorance of environment in the rush to making economic progress in China.

Riding the bureaucracy, corruption, and greedy of local government, these foreign invested companies were able to omit any environment issues they would have to face in their home countries, or practically anywhere else in the world. Not only they enjoy the much looser regulation, if any exist, on environment in China, but also they can get away from ignoring them. Many foreign companies have become the biggest pollution makers in China. Among the list:
Shanghai Panasonic Battery,
Changchun Pepsi;
Shanghai Nestle;
Shanghai 3M;
American Standard;
Shanghai Pizzahut;
Xiamen Noell Crane Systems;
Zhejiang Purolite;
Hunan Yamah

Ma Changbo, Xunan, Investigation of Pollution Produced by Foreign Companies, Nanfang Weekend, Oct 26th, 2006;
China Water Pollution Data Center